Lady Chen (陳夫人, personal name unknown), formally the Lady Dowager Zhaoyi of Jin (晉國昭懿太夫人), was the mother of

Qian Yuanguan Qian Yuanguan (錢元瓘) (November 30, 887 – September 17, 941''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282.), born Qian Chuanguan (錢傳瓘), formally King Wenmu of Wuyue (吳越文穆王), courtesy name Mingbao (明寶), was the second king of the state of W ...

(King Wenmu) (né Qian Chuanguan, name changed to Qian Yuanguan upon his succession to the throne), the second king of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

state

Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...

of the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

. Little is known about Lady Chen's background. She was a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

of Qian Chuanguan's father, Wuyue's first king

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

(King Wusu) (whose wife was Lady Wu).''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

'' ( 十國春秋)
vol. 83
She gave birth to his seventh son, Qian Chuanguan, in 887. Qian Chuanguan was designated Qian Liu's heir in 928, and that year, Qian Liu, with permission from

Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reignin ...

, whom Qian Liu was a vassal of, transferred the title of military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') of Zhenhai (鎮海, headquartered in modern

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

) and Zhendong (鎮東, headquartered in modern

Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants. ...

) — which made up the vast majority of Wuyue's territory — to Qian Chuanguan, while remaining king himself. It is unclear what title, if any, Lady Chen carried during Qian Liu's lifetime. Qian Liu died in 932, and Qian Chuanguan took over administration of the state (and changed his name to Qian Yuanguan), although for some time did not use the title of King of Wuyue but instead referred to himself by the military governor title (and, in succession, the

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four e ...

-bestowed titles of Prince of Wu and Prince of Yue) when reporting to Later Tang, to whom Wuyue was a vassal.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 277. (He would assume the king title only years after Lady Chen's death, in 937.) It was said that Qian Yuanguan was respectful and filially pious toward his mother. He also treated her family well, presenting them with many gifts, but never gave them offices on account of her. She died in the early ''Qingtai'' era (934-936) of the Later Tang emperor

Li Congke Li Congke () (11 February 885 – 11 January 937), also known in historiography as the Last Emperor of Later Tang (), Deposed Emperor of Later Tang (), Wang Congke () (particularly during the succeeding Later Jin dynasty, which did not recogni ...

and was posthumously created the Lady Dowager of Jin, with the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

of ''Zhaoyi'' ("accomplished and benevolent").

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Lady 9th-century births 930s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms imperial consorts Wuyue people zh:钱镠#妻